H manning



Oct. 31, 1961 F. H MANNING 3,

VOTING MACHINE Filed April 21, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Earn]. flaw? ,4]

6 INVENTOR.

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Oct. 31, 1961 F. H MANNING 3,006,539

VOTING MACHINE Filed April 21, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 f 69 59 79 o 0 6a A f G w n I; L

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United States Patent 3,006,539 VOTING MACHINE Frank H. Manning, 310% W. Compton Blvd., Compton, Califl, assignor of forty percent to Wilma I. Johnston, Gardena, Calif.

Filed Apr. 21, 1958, Ser. No. 729,773 15 Claims. (Cl. 235-53) This invention has to do generally with manually operated voting machines, and has for its general object to provide an improved machine especially suitable for registration of the voting by organizations such as labor groups, clubs and the like, where it is desirable that the vote taking and counting be conducted speedily and in a manner permitting of no discrepancies between the number of voters and the kind and totals of the votes cast.

More specifically, the invention contemplates improve ments in machines whereby each vote is cast by selective direction of a ball or equivalent element capable of rotation through and return from its path of operation. While ball actuated voting machines have been proposed in the past, the present invention presents various innovations and advantages rendering it especially advantageous for group use for the taking and registering of the true and intended vote.

Generally considered, the invention aims to preclude the possibilities of accidental or deliberate error in the voting, by so devising the machine that with minimum supervision it will be assured that the total number of votes cast will correspond to the number of persons .giving their votes, that no more than one vote will be cast under this of supervision, and that the results Will necessarily correspond with the intentions, pro and con, of those voting. To this end I have devised a machine in which each vote is cast by a single passage of the same ball through yes or no paths of travel through the machine, with the completion of each vote actuation of the machine preferably audibly signalled to the attendant. By concealed location though ready accessibility of the selective ball passages, successive votes may be quickly taken and registered to accommodate the vote of a large number of persons within a short period of time.

structurally, the invention contemplates construction of the machine with a housingcontaining a horizontally extending partition or wall on or above which is mounted totalizing counters for registering the yes, no and total of the votes cast, together with a counter actuating mechanism which is responsive to selective actuation of a pair of elements individually displaceable by the ball during its travel through the yes or no vote ways. While normally locked, the parts and mechanism supported on the floor are rendered accessible for inspection or repair by the movability of the upper housing section from a locked condition, all in a manner hereinafter described. A further and particularly advantageous feature is the attachment to the underside of this supporting wall or floor of the ball way-forming passages and ball actuated elements connecting up through the floor with the transmission mechanism thereon, and mounting of the floor so that it may be raised to elevate from the bottom section of the housing for inspection or repair, all parts suspended from the floor.

The invention has various additional features and objects, all of which together with those referred to in the foregoing, will be most readily understood and explained to best advantage in the following description of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective elevation of the machine; I FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical cross section taken in the plane of line 22 of FIG. 1;

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FIG. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged surface view taken from line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary enlargement of the counter actuating mechanism taken in the aspect of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a vertical section taken on lines 5-5 of FIGS. 2 and 4; and I FIG. 6 is a fragmentary section as viewed from line 6-6 of FIG. 2.

As generally illustrated in FIG..1, the machine is shown to have a housing structure 10 including a bottom'sect-ion 11 and a top cover section 12 hinged at 13, see FIG. 2, so that it may be raised to expose the working parts of the machine, as will later appear. Desirably, the housing may have a trout angular panel 14 containing a window 15 through which the later described totalizing counters are readable. Interiorly, the housing structure includes a horizontally extending floor 16, the forward section 16a of which is hinged at 17 to the relatively shallow rear rigid section 16b to permit upward swinging of section 16a and all the parts and mechanisms carried thereby. Direct-1y below this floor, the bottom chamber of the housing contains a horizontally extending passage 18 defined by bottom and side walls 19 and 20, and terminating at the inclined end wall 21 which contains a pair of openings 22 and 23 at opposite sides of a guide rib 24, and through which the voting ball 25 is insertible to register selectively a yes or no vote. The entrance to passage 18 maybe screened by an appropriate curtain 26, at the outside of which doors 27 and 28 labeled respectively yes and no to correspond with the yes and no vote openings 22 and 23, may be hinged for closing the passage when the machine is not in use.

Upper section 12 of the housing is locked against elevation from the outside by an appropriate device such as a manually releasable, pivot latch 29 mounted to the floor section 16a and engageable with a keeper 30 fixed yes and no votes.

to the housing section 12. Access to the interior of the housing and release of the latch is had by way of door 31, see FIG. 1, which can only be opened by a keyoperated lock 32. Thus, the later described vote totalizers are protected against tampering, by being locked in the housing. However, authorized personnel may unlock the door 31 to release the latch 29 and lift the cover section 12 for inspection or repair of the internal parts.

At this point reference may be had to the upstanding support 33 attached to the floor section 16a and having a forward inclined face 34 on which are mounted counters 35 and 36 actuable through their arms 37 and 38 to register and totalize respectively the yes and no votes. A third counter 39 is operated by its arm 40 upon each actuation of arms 37 and 38, to register the total of the As illustrated in FIG. 3, the three counters 35, 36 and 39 are readable through the housing window 15. During voting, however, it-is desirable that at least :the counters 35 and 36 be concealed, and for this purpose I provide suitable means such as a shutter plate 41 attached to the inside of panel 14 by screws 42 extending through slots 43, permitting the shutter to be shifted back and forth by manipulation within the housing, from the FIG. 3 position a distance toward the left sufficient to cover the counters 35 and 36. Thus during voting, the total registered by counter 39 may be observed, without revealing the relation of the yes and no votes.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 6, openings 22 and 23 communicate respectively with a pair of ways 44 and 45 formed between downwardly extending and forwardly f 45 onto a pad 50 for recovery through the housing open- 3 ing 51 controlled by a pull slide 52, the sides 53 of which confine the ball.

A pair of arms 54 and 55 project forwardly from their pivotal mountings at 56 on the stationary support 57, through slots 58 and 59 in the Walls of the respective ways 44 and 45 so that as the bal125 falls down through either way, the traversing arm is deflected downwardly as to the dotted line position 54a in FIG. 2. Each of the arms 54 and 55 has in effect an extension arm 60 by means of, which each actuation of the arms is transmitted respectively to links 61 and 62 (the former for the yes vote and the latter for the no vote) extending up through openings 63 in the floor section 16a.

Links 61 and 62 selectively actuate the counters through a transmission mechanism, generally indicated at 64, mounted by supports 65 on the floor 16a. Journalled on supports 65 are three horizontal shafts 66, 67 and 68, the first mentioned of which carries a fixed arm 69 pivotally connected at 70 to link 62 so that shaft 66 oscillates in response to vertical reciprocations of the link. Shaft 67 similarly carries an arm 71, see FIG. 2, terminally connected to link 61 for oscillation of the shaft in response to reciprocations of the link. Each of the shafts may be counter-balanced by weights 73 carried on arm 74 fixed to their respective shafts. Each actuation of the links 61 and 62 is transmitted through oscillation of the respective shafts 66 and 67 to the counters 3'5- and 36 by way of arms 75 and 76 and terminally pivoted links 77 and 78, each of which carries the conventional intermediate slack or lost motion connection 79 consisting of a bifurcation 80 terminally confining a spring 8 1 opposite- 1y engaged by the rod terminal 82. Thus it will be ap parent that through the described mechanisms, counters 35 and 36 will be actuated respectively in response to voting ball displacements of arms 54 and 55.

Further provision is made for actuating the totalizer 39 by way of shaft 68 and in response to the oscillations of both shaft 66 and 67. For this purpose, shaft '66 carries an arm 83 pivotally connected at 84 with a tube 85 within which reciprocates a rod 86 pivoted at 87 to arm 88 on the shaft 68. This linkage thus provides a lost motion connection between shaft 66 and 68 in the sense that downward swinging of arm 83 in response to oscillation of shaft 66 is transmitted by way of arm 88 to shaft 68, while oscillations of shaft 68 by actuation from shaft 67, transmits no movement to shaft 66. Such oscillation from shaft 67 is transmitted through its arm 89 pivoted to tube 90 which receives rod 91 pivoted at 92 to arm 93 on shaft 68', to provide the second lost motion connection. Thus the individual oscillations of shafts 66 and 67, in response to the yes and no vote actuations of arms 54 and 55, are transmitted to shaft 68, and thence through its arm 94 and link 95 to the totalizer 39.

Each vote is audibly signalled by an appropriate sounding device which may be actuated by each vote oscillation of shaft 68. Typically, the shaft may carry an arm 96 which may be provided to engage and depress against the resistance of spring 97, a rod 98 which opens and closes the switch 99 component of an electric signalling device 100 energized through the power supply cord 101 and operating to give a single bell or other signal in response to each oscillation of the shaft 68'.

As previously explained, the cover section 12 of the housing may be raised upon release of the latch 29, to permit direct access to the counters as well as the actuating mechanism 64 and parts of the signalling equipment above the floor. By reason of the hinge mounting at 17 of the floor section 16a, the latter may be swung upwardly to elevate from within the bottom of the housing for inspection or repair, all of the parts supported by and beneath the floor, including the walls defining passage 18, the ways 44 and 45, arms 54, 55 and their supporting structure 57 and the signalling device 100.

We claim:

1. A voting machine comprising a housing, a horizontally extending partition floor therein, means forming below said floor a pair of downwardly extending ways accessible selectively through corresponding openings in the housing structure to receive a voting ball, movable elements below said floor and respectively actuable by the ball traveling one or the other of said ways, a pair of totalizing counters in a closed section of the housing above said floor and readable from the outside of the housing, and mechanism mounted on said fioor and operatively connected through the floor to said elements and counters to transmit ball actuation of one of the elements to its respective one of the counters.

2. A voting machine as defined by claim 1, including also a third totalizing counter actuable by said mechanism to register the total actuation of both elements.

3. A voting machine as defined by claim 1, in which the upper housing section above said floor is movable to expose and permit access to said mechanism and counters.

4. A voting machine as defined by claim 1, comprising also audible means for signalling each actuation of said elements.

5. A voting machine as defined by claim 1, in which said openings are concealed within the housing at the end of a horizontal passage underlying said floor.

6. A voting machine as defined by claim 3, comprising means releasable only at the inside of the housing for locking said upper section against said movement, and key controlled means in the housing for gaining access to said locking means.

7. A voting machine as defined by claim 1, including also means operable at the inside of the housing to prevent visual reading of said counters from the outside.

8. A voting machine as defined by claim 2, including also means operable at the inside of the housing to prevent visual reading of the first mentioned counters without concealing the third counter.

9. A voting machine as defined by claim 1, in which said ways and elements are supported by and beneath said floor. 1

10.,A voting machine as defined by claim 9, in which said floor is hinged to the housing structure for upward swinging movement and exposure of said ways and elements.

11. A voting machine as defined by claim 1, in which said wall is mounted for upward swinging from the bottom portion of the housing, and the housing includes a cover section hinged to be swung upwardly from said wall.

12. A voting machine as defined by claim 1, in which said mechanism includes independently operable linkages connecting said elements with their respective counters.

13. A voting mechanism as defined by claim 1, in which said mechanism includes independently operable linkages connecting said elements to their respective counters, and a third linkage means operated by said linkages to actuate said third totalizing counter.

14. A voting machine as defined by claim 1, in which said mechanism comprises a pair of oscillatory shafts connected to said elements and said pair of counters, a third shaft connected to said third counter, and means for oscillating said third shaft in response to oscillations of either shaft of said pair.

15. A voting machine as defined by claim 14, comprising audible signalling means actuated in response to each oscillation of said third shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

